Lionel Richie 'Tried To Bribe the Pilot' To Avoid Madison Square Garden's Sudden Cancelation

Lionel Richie broke his silence over his Madison Square Garden concert's sudden cancelation, which led people to criticize him.

Richie suffered condemnation after he announced the last-minute cancelation of his New York City show with Earth, Wind, and Fire. He apologized several times before rescheduling it on Monday night, and the singer revealed what led to the disappointing event.

Lionel Richie Apologizes To Fans Again

On Monday night, the 74-year-old Grammy-winning singer told his fans that he needed to cancel the Saturday show due to weather conditions and that he tried his best to make it to the show and avoid the cancelation. But he still ended up postponing it.

"I had two 'no's to come at the same time," Richie said. "And when those two decided it's a no - when God says no and when the pilot says no, the answer..."

He also quipped that he tried to bribe the pilot, who told him he still wanted to see his wife after the travel.

As they had no choice, Richie apologized to his fans several times instead.

His explanation came after he posted a statement on Twitter, now X, saying that he could not make it to the venue due to severe weather. A thunderstorm happened across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, while flash flood warnings continued until Monday.

Lionel Richie To Return as "American Idol" Judges

Richie started his trek after a confirmation that he, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan would return to the judging panel of "American Idol" season 22, which would also see the return of Ryan Seacrest as the new season's host.

ABC confirmed the development before holding the audition starting on August 4, despite a rollercoaster ride for Perry last season.

For what it's worth, the "Roar" hitmaker was slammed several times over her controversial and below-the-belt remarks toward the contestants. One of the incidents involved a mom contestant, Sara Beth, who was mom-shamed by the singer after learning that she only started taking music seriously months before the audition.

Perry, at that time, said the contestant might need to leave if she has a different dream because there were aspirants who badly wanted to pursue singing careers. In her second audition, Liebe announced she would be quitting the show since she wanted to focus on her children instead.